Daily Archives: November 8, 2017

Georges St-Pierre is fresh off a victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 217. And UFC President Dana White has already announced that Robert Whittaker will be GSP’s next opponent. But sportsbooks are offering lines as if St-Pierre were preparing to fight Conor McGregor.

This is the fantasy fight from a fan’s perspective because McGregor is coming off a boxing match against Floyd to Mayweather Jr. And St-Pierre is one of the most-famous fighters in mixed martial arts. They’re also both titleholders, with GSP holding the middleweight belt and McGregor holding the lightweight belt.

The betting line on St-Pierre vs. McGegor is more fantasy than reality right now. But major sportsbooks currently have GSP at -150 and McGregor at +120.

This sets up St-Pierre to be a favorite if the fight were to take place tomorrow. However, -150 doesn’t put St-Pierre as a massive favorite in the octagon. And it’s nothing like the long odds that McGregor was facing when he boxed Mayweather.

Both fighters are really talented. But if there’s a major reason why St-PIerre has an edge, it’s because the fight would take place at welterweight (170).

St-Pierre (185) and McGregor (155) sit at 30 points apart. McGregor would have to unnaturally gain 15 pounds, while St-Pierre would have the easier cutting process.

Chances of McGregor vs. St-Pierre Happening

Currently, the idea of Conor McGregor and Georges St-Pierre has mainly been something for the media to discuss. St-Pierre hadn’t fought in four years before beating former middleweight champion Michael Bisping. The Montreal native didn’t waste any time shaking off the ring rust, choking out Bisping in the second round.

Now he’ll fight interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker some time next year. St-Pierre must win this fight in order to make a potential McGregor match more attractive. And he’s currently favored at sportsbooks (-160) against Whittaker (+130).

St-Pierre is contractually obligated to take on Whittaker next. But according to MMA Weekly, St-Pierre’s coach, Freddie Roach, wants his fighter to drop down in weight in the future. And this would make a McGregor/St-Pierre match far more plausible.

“I think I would like to go to the lower weight division, back to the weight that he’s more comfortable with and more used to,” said Roach. “But the thing is, that might not be available at this point. We do need to work that out with the promoter.”

Who will McGregor Fight Next?

With GSP already having his next fight booked, all eyes are on McGregor and who his next opponent will be. White is supposed to announce who the Irishman will face later this week.

“That’s all this week,” said White. “We’re working on that [UFC 218 main event]. I have to have it done by the end of the week.”

Yahoo Sports reports that money may be holding up McGregor’s return to the UFC.

“(The UFC has) got to entice me now because I came from a billion-dollar fight, so they’ve got to entice me with something,” McGregor said. “I want equity. I want ownership. I want to be true partners in this, similar to the way I was in the Floyd fight. I was a promoter and I was a fighter.”

“That must continue for me to continue. Otherwise, I’ve got many entities and many other interests that I can carry on.”

White also noted that the money McGregor earned in the Mayweather fight is making negotiations more difficult.

“That’s what he wanted to do (fight at UFC 219),” White explained. “But when you make friggin’ 80 million bucks, things change. You never know. I said that before the fight. You make that kind of money, it can change you.”

In summary, McGregor and St-Pierre will be doing their own things in the short-term future. And there’s quite a weight difference between them at the moment.

White has indicated that he’d like to put McGregor up against Tony Ferguson. Assuming he wins this match, then perhaps we can start talking more seriously about a GSP and McGregor fight.